B. Fixation

Collect cells by centrifugation and aspirate supernatant.

Resuspend cells in 0.5–1 ml 1X PBS. Add formaldehyde to obtain a final concentration of 4%.

Fix for 10 min at 37°C.

Chill tubes on ice for 1 min.

For extracellular staining with antibodies that do not require permeabilization, proceed to immunostaining (Section D) or store cells in PBS with 0.1% sodium azide at 4°C; for intracellular staining, proceed to permeabilization (Section C).

C. Permeabilization

NOTE: This step is critical for many CST antibodies.

Permeabilize cells by adding ice-cold 100% methanol slowly to pre-chilled cells, while gently vortexing, to a final concentration of 90% methanol. Alternatively, remove fix prior to permeabilization by centrifugation and resuspend in 90% methanol as described above.

Incubate 30 min on ice.

Proceed with immunostaining (Section D) or store cells at -20°C in 90% methanol.

D. Immunostaining

NOTE: Account for isotype matched controls for monoclonal antibodies or species matched IgG for polyclonal antibodies. Count cells using a hemocytometer or alternative method.

Aliquot 0.5–1 x 106 cells into each assay tube (by volume).

Add 2–3 ml incubation buffer to each tube and wash by centrifugation. Repeat.

Source / Purification

Product Description

This Cell Signaling Technology antibody is conjugated to Alexa Fluor® 647 fluorescent dye and tested in-house for direct flow cytometric and immunofluorescent analysis in human cells. The antibody is expected to exhibit the same species cross-reactivity as the unconjugated Tri-Methyl-Histone H3 (Lys4) (C42D8) Rabbit mAb #9751.

Background

The nucleosome, made up of four core histone proteins (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4), is the primary building block of chromatin. Originally thought to function as a static scaffold for DNA packaging, histones have now been shown to be dynamic proteins, undergoing multiple types of post-translational modifications, including acetylation, phosphorylation, methylation, and ubiquitination (1). Histone methylation is a major determinant for the formation of active and inactive regions of the genome and is crucial for the proper programming of the genome during development (2,3). Arginine methylation of histones H3 (Arg2, 17, 26) and H4 (Arg3) promotes transcriptional activation and is mediated by a family of protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs), including the co-activators PRMT1 and CARM1 (PRMT4) (4). In contrast, a more diverse set of histone lysine methyltransferases has been identified, all but one of which contain a conserved catalytic SET domain originally identified in the Drosophila Su(var)3-9, Enhancer of zeste, and Trithorax proteins. Lysine methylation occurs primarily on histones H3 (Lys4, 9, 27, 36, 79) and H4 (Lys20) and has been implicated in both transcriptional activation and silencing (4). Methylation of these lysine residues coordinates the recruitment of chromatin modifying enzymes containing methyl-lysine binding modules such as chromodomains (HP1, PRC1), PHD fingers (BPTF, ING2), tudor domains (53BP1), and WD-40 domains (WDR5) (5-8). The discovery of histone demethylases such as PADI4, LSD1, JMJD1, JMJD2, and JHDM1 has shown that methylation is a reversible epigenetic marker (9).

Data Sheets & Documentation

For Research Use Only. Not For Use In Diagnostic Procedures.
Cell Signaling Technology is a trademark of Cell Signaling Technology, Inc.
XP is a trademark of Cell Signaling Technology, Inc.
The Alexa Fluor dye antibody conjugates in this product are sold under license from Life Technologies Corporation for research use only, except for use in combination with DNA microarrays. The Alexa Fluor® dyes (except for Alexa Fluor® 430 dye) are covered by pending and issued patents. Alexa Fluor® is a registered trademark of Molecular Probes, Inc.
U.S. Patent No. 5,675,063.